The present invention relates to the general field of utensils and is particularly related to a shellfish cutting utensil.
The popularity of shellfish such as lobsters, crabs, shrimp, scampi and the like is well known despite the relative difficulty encountered in eating the same. Indeed, shellfish are often served in their shell which must then be opened or removed in order to remove the edible portion.
Various tools and utensils have been proposed in the art for assisting an intended user in separating the meat from the hard shell portion of conventional shellfish. One particular class of tools or utensils utilizes the principle of cracking the shell.
Generally, such cracking tools have pivoting members providing for the placement of the shell to be cracked between the pivoting members. An intended user then applies a compressive force to the pivoting members to compress and crack the shellfish. A second type employs a hammer or mallet for cracking the shell. The shell is then removed in pieces to expose the meat.
Both the cracking and the hammering procedures can result in trauma to the hand from the sharp edges and projections of the shell. Also, protective clothing such as a bib or apron is usually necessary to avoid soiling underlying clothing.
Another drawback associated with such prior art methods relates to the fact that the compressive force imparted on the meat often damages the latter.
A second class of tool attempting to circumvent the herein above mentioned disadvantages by using a cutting action. The typical tool opens and closes like pliers with jaws that are notched and concave to hold the shellfish and crack the same when pressure is applied to the handles. This type of tool includes a relatively sharp severing section.
Another class of prior art tools involves the use of relatively sharp objects. One such tool includes a planar blade with an open handed slot extending linearly from a terminal end of the blade along the longitudinal axis of the blade. The slot symmetrically divides the blade into two identical sections. In use, one section of the knife is inserted into the interior of the shellfish section, with the other section straddling the exterior of the shell. By lifting upwardly on the knife, the knife is rotated about its terminal end and acts as lever to break the shell.
However, because a pointed edge is formed at the terminal end of the external fork by the linear slot, lifting of the utensil causes the pointed edge to piece the shell of the shellfish and result in an interrupted movement in opening the shell.
In addition, damage of the edible portion inside can result since the end of the section rotates into the shellfish meat.
A further problem with the foregoing manual cutting procedures is that the slicing operation can be very dangerous. The shellfish is typically wet and slippery when dressed often leading to mishandling of the shellfish or slicing implement during the slicing step and sometimes resulting in injury to the operator.
The potential for injury increases as the operator tries to speed up operations as is sometimes called for, and uses less care and caution than he/she would otherwise exercise.
Accordingly, the prior art devices heretofore proposed whether of the compressive or cutting or other types have proven to be unsatisfactory.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a utensil or a tool suitable for the removal of the shell of a crustacean.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tool or utensil for the removal of a shell from a crustacean and which tool or utensil is easily manipulated and safe to use.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a utensil suitable for opening shellfish comprising a first elongated member having a first handle at a first end thereof and a first jaw at a second end thereof, a second elongated member having a second handle at a first end thereof and a second jaw at a second end thereof, the first and second elongated members being pivotally connected together and being pivotally moveable between a jaw open position and a jaw closed position, the first jaw having a first jaw exterior side edge and a first jaw interior side edge, the second jaw having a second jaw exterior side edge and a second jaw interior side edge, the first jaw inner side edge and the second jaw inner side edge being in a facing relationship when the first and second elongated members are in the open position, and the first jaw having a recess extending inwardly from the first jaw exterior side edge, the recess being defined by a recess side wall, the recess side wall having a cutting edge formed on at least a portion thereof.
Advantages of the present invention include that the proposed utensil is specifically designed for allowing an intended user to cut the shell thereof so as to facilitate separation of the meat from the shell. The proposed device sharply reduces splattering in the process of separating shell and meat. It also greatly reduces the risk of damaging the meat during the shell separation procedure.
Furthermore, the proposed tool allows for ergonomical handling thereof so as to provide a quick and easy method of separating the shell from the meat from conventional shellfishes while reducing the risk of injury to the intended user. The proposed utensil is further specifically designed so as to be used not only for cutting the shell of the shellfish but also so as to provide a tool for facilitating separation of the meat from the shell once the latter is severed.
Still further, the proposed utensil is specifically designed so as to be relatively easily and inexpensively manufacturable so as to provide a tool that will be sufficiently low in cost that it may be a single use device if needed.
The first and second elongated members are suitably connected together such that they may be pivotally moved with respect to each other between an open position and a closed position. The pivotal connection may take place either in the middle portion of the elongated members such that the elongated members resemble a pair of scissors or alternatively, the elongated members may be connected proximate the jaw end thereof such that the pivotal movement resembles that of a pair of crackers. In either instance, the elongated members may be pivotally connected by any suitable means such as a rivet, pivot pin, screw threaded arrangement, etc. In one particular embodiment, the elongated members may be connected together such that a space is provided therebetween. Such an arrangement facilitates the cleaning of the elongated members.
The elongated members may be formed of any suitable material. Thus, in a conventional arrangement, the major portion would be of a metallic material with the possibility that portions of the handle section may be formed of a further suitable material such as a plastic material. One could, for example, form the utensil completely of a stainless steel. However, for a lower manufacturing cost, a chrome plated carbon steel could be utilized. Alternatively, for an even lower manufacturing cost, the product could be formed of a plastic material which may optionally include a metallic portion forming the cutting edges.